In April 2012 "People and the Planet" published a report saying that consumption levels between developed and developing nations must be rebalanced alongside a stabilization of the world's population by voluntary methods. After the 21-month study conducted by the Royal Society on issues relating to global population, the findings showed that the most developed and emerging economies must stabilize and then reduce material consumption levels to help the poorest 1.3 billion people to escape absolute poverty.

In an event at the United Nations University (8/10/12), the 2002 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine, Sir John Sulston, will outline some of the key findings from the report.

His presentation was followed by a panel discussion including Prof. Shunsuke Managi, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University; Dr. Magnus Bengtsson, Principal Researcher and Director, Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), IGES;and the audience. The discussion, moderated by Ms. Junko Edahiro, Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Japan for Sustainability (JFS), will look at questions such as:

How can we commit to a more-just future based not on material consumption growth for nations, but on the needs of the global community, both present and future?

How can science help us to achieve this goal, not only by developing practical solutions that improve our health and living standards and optimize our use of resources, but also by identifying potential problems, such as emerging diseases or the impact of greenhouse gases?

This Science Cafe was co-organized by the British Council, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and the United Nations University.